Chicken Imperial

                                                                   

This recipe is nearly 40 years old! It was given to me by a friend and I still have the original card in her writing!  I have been cleaning out my recipe box and binders and getting rid of any recipes that I know I will never make again-like those with canned cream of anything soup. If I can't change the recipe to something healthier, I toss it.  This one was a favorite, I don't know why I stopped making it, maybe because of all the butter (the original called for 1 1/2 sticks!).  I wrote the recipe to serve four.  You might notice there's more than that in the photo.  I had family over for dinner tonight and doubled the recipe.

I changed the original recipe a bit-actually, I changed it a lot, but the original flavor is still there. The original recipe called for a whole cut up chicken and was cooked in the oven for an hour and a half.  I had thin sliced boneless breasts, so I decided to do it on top of the stove. I adjusted the seasonings a bit, and made a sauce with the seasonings and butter.  I added parsley and rosemary to the original seasonings.  Don't be afraid of the curry, it gives it great flavor!

If you don't want to spend the extra money for thin sliced chicken breasts, use regular boneless breasts and slice them through the middle to made two thin slices out of each one. This was a really quick meal because there was no chopping involved; it took less than 30 minutes to prepare.  Serve it over rice with a vegetable and salad and you have a great meal.

Chicken Imperial

4 thin sliced boneless chicken breasts, or two regular boneless breasts sliced to make 4 thin slices
4 tablespoons flour + two tablespoons more for the sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 stick butter
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a small sauce pan.  Combine curry powder, parsley, garlic powder, oregano, paprika and rosemary in a small bowl, stir to combine.  Add Worcestershire and Dijon mustard to the butter whisk, add dried spices and whisk until combined.  Keep on low heat while preparing the chicken.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large heavy bottomed skillet.  Season 4 tablespoons of flour with salt and pepper, dredge chicken in flour and place in hot skillet.  Do not touch the chicken until it moves freely in the pan, about 2-3 minutes.  Turn and brown on the other side for another 2 -3 minutes  Add the butter, spice mixture to the pan, lower heat to medium, and continually baste the chicken for two to three minutes.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.  Raise the heat to medium high and add two tablespoons of flour to the pan, Whisk quickly to form a roux.  Add wine and continue mixing, Add chicken broth.  If mixture gets too thick, add more broth.  Taste and check for seasoning, you may want to add a little salt at this point.  Add the chicken back to the pan to warm through.  Transfer chicken to a platter and pour the sauce over.  Serve over rice.  Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Carol
a.k.a.
Nonnie